Only Today Do I Know Who I Am

In front of the tiled house, Ning Wan'er's smile was somewhat forced, one might even say stiff.

Clearly, parting with so many spirit herbs at once was agonizing for this money-grubbing little green tea.

Yet, she still handed them over...

Staring at Ning Wan'er in shock and speechlessness, Li Muyang felt a momentary sense of daze.

What the hell... this is insane.

Am I still dreaming?

The green tea Ning Wan'er, who usually only took and never gave, hadn't swindled him this time; instead, she had voluntarily suffered a massive loss at such a critical moment...

Li Muyang's expression was one of pure shock.

Ning Wan'er glared at him and said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not giving these to you for free; I'm only lending them to you."

"You have to pay me back later."

The girl tried to emphasize this point.

Li Muyang sighed and said, "Understood, understood. These are borrowed, and I will definitely pay you back."

With that, Li Muyang welcomed Ning Wan'er into the house.

If it was just a loan and not a gift, it fit his perception of this little green tea... as if!

In his memory, the green tea Ning Wan'er only ever swindled others; there was no such thing as someone else taking advantage of her.

The value of these spirit herbs, roughly estimated, exceeded all the money Li Muyang had been swindled out of previously.

And it was an open secret in Jiuyuan City that the Ning Estate had long since fallen into decline.

Li Muyang even believed that Ning Wan'er's father, the head of the Ning family, couldn't even produce this many spirit herbs.

He hadn't expected this little green tea to be a hidden little rich girl, hoarding a stash of wealth.

Though most of that wealth had likely come from Li Muyang himself...

With complex emotions, he ushered Ning Wan'er inside. Watching the two girls begin to talk, Li Muyang sat in the corner and took out his alchemy cauldron to start refining medicine.

Li Yuechan's symptoms were becoming increasingly severe.

Although half of the demonic energy had been purged, the corrosion of her body continued unabated.

She now frequently fell into a coma, and for a third of every day, she would tremble all over from the pain.

There wasn't much time left for her to lie there awake and resting.

Ning Wan'er spoke softly to comfort Li Yuechan, chatting with her for a while, but before long, Li Yuechan grew weak and drifted into a coma.

Seeing Li Yuechan, who had been talking just a second ago, suddenly close her eyes and fall asleep, Ning Wan'er grew nervous.

"Mu... Muyang, Yuechan, she..."

Ning Wan'er stood up in a panic to call for Li Muyang.

But Li Muyang, busy refining medicine in the corner, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, she's just fallen asleep."

"The demonic energy is corroding her flesh and soul; Yuechan is very weak right now."

Watching the spirit liquid gradually refine within the cauldron, Li Muyang let out a long breath.

He stood up and poured the refined liquid into a bowl, filling it about halfway.

Once the liquid had cooled, Li Muyang carried it to the bedside and carefully fed it to the unconscious Li Yuechan.

After consuming the liquid, the black lines on Li Yuechan's wrist receded by a third.

Seeing this, Ning Wan'er hesitated. "Is it still not enough..."

Li Muyang was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's already very good. Yuechan's hand should be saved now."

"Before, her entire arm below the elbow was red, but now there are only a few red spots left."

"Judging by the state of the remaining demonic energy, some of the flesh on her arm and shoulder will rot away, but her hand can be kept intact. She'll just need to rest well afterward to let the rotted flesh grow back."

Li Muyang added, "Besides, I'm already looking for a way. I might be able to get more spirit herbs in a few days. In any case, thank you, Miss Ning."

Li Muyang looked into Ning Wan'er's eyes with sincerity and earnestness. "You've been a huge help this time."

Although he had harbored prejudice and hostility toward this little green tea, those feelings had dissipated along with Ning Wan'er's proactive visit to "lend" the medicine.

The old Li Muyang had thought this little green tea wasn't a good person, but now he realized she wasn't even a bad one.

Though it felt a bit awkward, she had become inexplicably cute.

Li Muyang smiled from the heart, no longer feeling any hostility toward the girl before him.

Under the gaze of Li Muyang's smiling eyes, for some reason, Ning Wan'er suddenly felt her heart pounding violently.

What... what the hell!

Why does this Li Muyang suddenly seem so much more pleasing to the eye?

Until she said goodbye to Li Muyang and walked out of that small tiled house, walking a long way off, Ning Wan'er, walking alone on the narrow mountain path, still felt her heart beating fast.

"I must be going crazy..."

Ning Wan'er walked along the mountain path with a guilty conscience, stealing a glance behind her.

For some reason, the moment she heard Li Muyang's sincere words of gratitude, she felt a sense of relief, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

It was as if she had received a very important validation.

Although, in her eyes, this young master of the Li Estate was nothing more than a foolish, gullible mark.

Even if he had become sensible and mature now, he was merely a sensible mark.

She shouldn't have cared about the gratitude or validation of such a person.

Yet, that feeling from just a moment ago...

Ning Wan'er gently pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the rhythmic beating within, a flicker of confusion flashing through her eyes.

Could it be that I actually hate the act of swindling him out of his money?

Though she wanted to go further and climb higher, she had told herself long ago that she must discard her conscience and sense of shame, treating everyone as stepping stones to climb higher, step by step.

She wanted to leave this backwater place of Jiuyuan City, go to places her parents had never been, become a true person of status, and see scenery that no one in Jiuyuan City could ever imagine.

Someone like her shouldn't have taken out the spiritual herbs she had saved for so long to lend to Li Muyang.

After all, once lent out, who knew how long it would take for Li Muyang to pay her back?

She shouldn't have taken such a risk.

But...

"So, I really can't be a true villain after all."

Ning Wan'er smiled self-deprecatingly.

The sense of relief she felt in the room just now had finally allowed her to see her own heart clearly.

Although she had been hypnotizing herself for the past few years, swindling a lot of money and acting like the snob everyone saw her as, she had always thought she didn't care about the cold stares of outsiders.

But at that moment, she was thoroughly convinced—she did care, and far more than she had imagined.

That was why Li Muyang's change in attitude toward her had brought her such relief.

Because ever since she arrived at the Demon Refining Sect, she had been afraid of one thing: that the now-sensible and mature Li Muyang would wake up and despise her...

That was why, at this critical juncture when Li Yuechan was injured, she had braced herself to bring the spiritual herbs she had accumulated to Li Muyang.

This behavior was practically an act of atonement, as if she were deliberately trying to curry favor with him...

"I really am ridiculous."

Having finally thought everything through, Ning Wan'er gave a self-mocking laugh.

"I have always wanted to go further and climb higher, willing to act like a petty villain. Yet, deep down, I hate such behavior."

"The real me is actually a fool who wants to become a person of status, climbing to the top by stepping on everyone else, yet refuses to dirty her own hands and insists on keeping her reputation pristine."

"...How laughably naive!"

In this world, under the rule of the demonic path, how could one possibly climb higher and become a person of status without dirtying one's hands?

However...

The girl on the mountain path let out a soft breath, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

At this moment, she finally understood her own heart.

If she was truly going to be a villain, then she would be the kind of great villain, steeped in evil and monstrous crimes.

As for the petty swindling and cheating of the past, if she didn't want to dirty her hands for such meager gains, then she simply wouldn't do it.

Those petty gains were not worth dirtying her hands!